NANUET - A hotel has been pitched to replace a decades-old strip mall along Route 59 near the New York state Thruway.

The Thruway Plaza, which has already seen plenty of turnover, would be demolished to make way for a 123-room, five-story hotel and a free-standing Dunkin' Donuts with a drive-through, according to plans now before the town of Clarkstown. An additional restaurant could also become part of the development.

A furniture store on the 6.5-acre parcel would also be leveled, but the building that houses a Taco Bell/KFC franchise would remain, according to plans on file with the town's Technical Advisory Committee.

The land is owned by Thruway Plaza of Rockland Associates, a partnership between the Goldstein, Yassky and Kirchner families, which each have other residential and commercial real estate properties throughout Rockland County.

The owners are working on approvals with the town and want to begin construction in late 2019.

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Al Pulitano at Franco's Pizza in the Thruway Plaza strip mall in Nanuet July 27, 2018. He is looking to relocate the business because of plans to build a hotel at the site.(Photo: Peter Carr/The Journal News)

Al Pulitano, whose family has run Franco's Pizza in the plaza for 35 years, said that come September he was hoping to relocate his business just down the road to a Route 59 shopping plaza anchored by P.C. Richard and Son.

"I'm not thrilled about it but we're moving across the street," he said Thursday. "They asked us to stay another year but then we wouldn't have a guaranteed spot," said Pulitano, who runs Franco's with his father, Frank.

Of the 27,000-square-foot Thruway Plaza's 11 storefronts, four were vacant on a recent visit. Besides Franco's, the aging strip mall is home to a nail salon, hair salon, insurance broker, deli, bagel shop and Dunkin' Donuts.

Tenants have changed over the years at the plaza, which was once home to the Route 59 Theatre, one of Rockland's popular one-screen movie houses.

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One of the empty storefronts in the Thruway Plaza on Route 59 in Nanuet, on July 26, 2018.(Photo: Robert Brum/The Journal News)

A Hampton Inn sits just blocks away across the southbound Thruway ramp at Exit 14 and several other hotels are nearby.

Risa Hoag, president of the Greater Nanuet Chamber of Commerce, said the hamlet's location made it a natural site for hotels.

She noted that the town's Transit Oriented Development study and pending rezoning had attracted interest from developers who see Nanuet’s potential.

"We know that several local business owners will be forced to relocate or close their doors as a result of the new hotel, but it is our expectation that Nanuet, Clarkstown and Rockland will all benefit from the changes in the long run," Hoag said.